Five die in stampede after Angolan soccer match

LUANDA (Reuters) - Five people were killed and seven injured in a stampede after an African Champions League soccer match in the Angolan capital Luanda on Saturday, the sports ministry said.

Witnesses told Reuters the people were crushed to death when they flooded out of the stadium after the game between Angola’s Primeiro de Agosto and TP Mazembe from the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Angola’s sports ministry said in a statement late on Sunday that it regretted the deaths and that the seven injured people had already been discharged from hospital.

Witnesses said the stampede happened after fans found the gates to the Estádio 11 de Novembro stadium shut after the match. When police opened the gates, fans rushed out and some were trampled under police horses.

The sports ministry blamed the casualties partly on the fact that the start of the game had been delayed.

Angola’s sports watchdog said it would investigate the incident.

Last year, at least 17 people died and dozens were injured in a stampede at a stadium in Uige, a city in northern Angola.